Women, Homelessness and Service Provision 21 “I tried to ODoverdose on me own tablets that just didn’t, they just put me asleep like and I woke up and was like, ‘Why am I still here?’ but … I got better after that so … the two weeks in psychiatric hospital was great, I didn’t want to leave laughs”. (Grace, 31) “With the drink and all we referring to partner knew then it was the time to get the kids sorted out so I put the kids into voluntary care and went into detox.” (Dervla, 36) Overall, the challenges and barriers associated with the women’s attempts to seek help were significant. Furthermore, a large number actively resisted presenting to services often because of fear, but also because of the perceived stigma attached to homelessness and/or experiences of domestic violence. Most entered into situations of ‘hidden’ homelessness for prolonged periods where they had little or no access to support in relation to housing, physical and mental health, substance use issues and/or trauma related to the experience of gender-based violence or abuse. A majority therefore remained ‘invisible’ to homeless and domestic violence support systems for lengthy periods of time prior to their first engagement with services. Next, we examine the women’s attempts to manage and negotiate their situations subsequent to their ‘official’ entry to homelessness and homeless support systems. Negotiating the Service Sector Women’s initial entry to services was almost always depicted as a difficult and distressing transition. Those who first accessed homeless services as teenagers or young adults invariably talked about their fear of the unknown as well as the difficulties they experienced in adjusting to communal living environments. “So yeah, there was a lot of help back then aged 17 as well but I didn’t, I didn’t listen, do you know, because I had a lot of anger as well and this place hostel was strange to me because I was never in a homeless shelter. I was never homeless. Do you know, I was never homeless.” (Amy, 22) “I was pretty scared because I didn’t know what environment I was going into, who was going to be in there, what they were like … Hostels are full of people who are full of drugs and they’re violent and they are this and they are that so I was pretty terrified coming here the first night, especially being pregnant as well ... so I had a lot to take on in the move.” (Emily, 22) Several told that they had made efforts to ‘keep to themselves’ or adopt a tough outer exterior in order to avoid ‘trouble’ or victimisation within service settings. Isobel explained that she had to “stand her ground” in order to ensure that she was not victimised while Rosie recalled that she had to “grow up fast” after presenting to homeless services for the first time as a teenager. “You have to be very able to stand your ground when you are inside a hostel because there is a lot of homeless people that are streetwise and will walk all over you.” (Isobel, 21)
Women, Homelessness and Service Provision
To see the actual publication please follow the link above